The present invention relates to an air conditioning unit and, more particularly, to a self-contained air conditioning unit which is adapted for installation relative to an exterior wall of a room or area to be cooled.
One of the most important design goals in a single room, self-contained air conditioner is to reduce the size of the unit as much as possible, yet maintain an acceptable capacity. It is thus particularly important that the efficiency of the unit be high in order to provide a maximum capacity for each design.
In typical designs of this type, the condenser heat exchanger and the evaporator heat exchanger are positioned parallel to the rear wall and front wall of the unit and to the room wall. Ambient air is drawn in through the rear wall of the unit and turns approximately 180.degree. before it passes across the condenser coil and discharges through the open air passage side of the rear wall. This type of flow pattern restricts the air flow through the condenser and thus reduces the efficiency of the system. Also, short circuiting of the condenser air discharge to the condenser air inlet is prevalent in these type designs which further reduces the condenser efficiency by increasing the ambient air temperature entering the condenser.
In other designs of this type, an inlet for ambient air is provided through the side wall of the unit. However, as in the systems discussed above, the air flow pattern extends for as much as 180.degree. from its direction of entry into the unit to its direction of discharge from the unit. Also, the condenser air discharge often short circuits back to the condenser air inlet as discussed above, which further reduces the efficiency of the unit.
The above problems associated with the condenser section of the unit may also exist in the evaporator section, for the same reasons as discussed above.